Hyundai i30 N crackles and growls in new sound bite
If there's not too much audio fakery in this short new video - and you just know there'll be a little - the Hyundai i30 N hot hatch is going to deliver some serious aural delight when it launches in the year ahead.
Only recently spied for the first time in the body of its next-generation i30 donor skin, the new hot hatch will be the first of Hyundai's properly performance-tuned 'N' offerings.
That's N for Namyang, by the way, where Hyundai carries out its research and development in South Korea - but perhaps also for the Nurburgring, where the company maintains a permanent testing centre.
As for this short new teaser, which shows the N division's earlier mule-bodied prototypes, those crackles and growls appear to confirm what Hyundai's growing fan-base has been hoping for: the i30 N won't be yet another warmed-up wannabe.
Reports suggest we can expect outputs beyond 200kW, which, in this era of rapidly improving performance numbers, could be considered the bare minimum for any new contender to stand a chance.
After all, the company is more than aware that the N range needs to be an exciting offering if it's going to succeed.
A 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine is expected to provide motivation, matched to manual and automatic transmissions - the latter likely a dual-clutch design - and, if the latest reports overseas prove accurate, a limited-slip differential.
For more on the i30 N, see our ongoing coverage at the links below.